


Upon My Sleeve

by theycallmethejackal



Series: Upon My Sleeve [1]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:49:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21930001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theycallmethejackal/pseuds/theycallmethejackal
Summary: “A bill protecting survivors from their abusers is more important than my love life.”
Relationships: Amy Gardner/Sam Seaborn, Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg, Helen Santos/Matt Santos, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Series: Upon My Sleeve [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1613155
Comments: 14
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For when my outward action doth demonstrate  
> The native act and figure of my heart  
> In compliment extern, ’tis not long after  
> But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve  
> For daws to peck at. I am not what I am.
> 
> Iago, Othello Act I Scene i

Even before taking the DCOS job, Sam Seaborn had done nearly every task of the office at least once, but it was when he had nothing else on his plate and Josh had too much - or when Josh was left behind in Indiana. Until he actually became Deputy Chief of Staff, he couldn’t fathom how daunting the job was.

He's beginning to understand why Josh's hairline rebelled.

"We're down six votes on HR 42 - "

Speaking of things he and Josh have in common. 

"Press the pause button for sixty seconds," he begs Amy without lifting his head from where it sits in his hands. He hears her huff and move further into the office, sitting in her usual seat across from him.

He could have stayed in California. He would be making a six-figure salary while only working forty hours per week. But Santos is The Real Thing, so instead he's in D.C where he's taken a 75% pay cut and is still in his office at eight o'clock on Friday night.

All things considered he's not surprised Emily called off the wedding.

Sam takes a deep breath, his fingers releasing his hair from their grip as he moves to sit upright. Across from him, Amy is looking at her watch. Her eyes flick up to look at him and she grins but says nothing. Sam opens his mouth to speak but she lifts her other hand to stop him while her gaze returns to her watch and she counts down with her fingers.

4...3...2...1...

Closing her raised hand and resting both in her lap, she looks back up at him. "You look like hell, Sam."

"Gee, thanks, Amy," he drawls.

“You read the article?” She asks, receiving a nod from Sam. “It’s pretty good. Almost makes you feel like you went through those eight years with them.” She smirks. “Oh, wait, we did.”

This earns a soft laugh from Sam, who knows there’s no bitterness from Amy regarding her ex’s imminent wedding. In fact, she and Donna have become very good friends since they started working together.

“What does this have to do with HR 42?” Sam asks.

“Absolutely nothing, but you looked about ready to rip all your hair out so I thought I’d give you a break.”

“How considerate.”

“I don’t think you’d be nearly as handsome bald.”

“I’ve got a flat head.”

It’s her turn to laugh now. “We should coordinate on how to get the votes back.”

“I just figured you’d kick them in the balls and I’d swoop in with ice packs.”

“Oh good then we’re on the same page.”

Sam smiles back at her. “Big day tomorrow,” he says.

“I’m surprised you still have your kneecaps. Figured the President would be gunning pretty hard for that best man job,” she jokes.

“There’s still time for that,” Sam points out. “Although violence doesn’t seem like his style. More likely he’d just have the Secret Service lock me in a closet until he’d given the best man speech. And I won’t even have a date to wonder where I am, so I might never get out,” he adds.

“Well I’ll keep an eye out to make sure you don’t randomly disappear.”

“I appreciate that,” he replies genuinely. “So is Nick coming with you or does he have some sort of woodworking emergency that requires his attention?” It’s a joke, but Amy cringes almost imperceptibly, causing Sam to furrow his brow and tip his head appraisingly. “Amy?”

“So HR 42 – ”

“What’s going on?”

“I think I may be able to get Peters on board but he’ll probably want to attach – ”

“Amy, forget about the goddamn bill for a second.”

She stares at him with a stony expression. “A bill protecting survivors from their abusers is more important than my love life. Can we just focus on that, please?”

It’s the _please_ that catches him off guard. So he concedes and lets her talk about the resolution and her plan to get the bill passed. He distracts her in the only way he knows how: by delving into an argument with her.

They close the door and debate for a long time in the way to which they’ve grown accustomed. To an outside eye it would seem as though they were genuinely fighting, but this has become the way they strategize before going into battle. They debate heatedly until they’ve worked out both sides of the argument so they can be adequately prepared for anything the other side has to throw at them.

They finally end up sitting in the visitors’ chairs next to one another. Amy has propped her feet up on the desk, crossed at the ankles while she scribbles on the notepad in her lap.

From the other seat, Sam silently watches her work, wondering what could have happened between Amy and her boyfriend that would cause the reaction he’d witnessed. He’s known Amy for years – since he was a congressional aide. He’s never seen her rattled til now.

Eventually Amy stops writing mid-sentence and side-eyes him. “Sam, all that distracting you did is gonna go to waste if you don’t stop staring at me,” she utters as she returns to writing notes on the page.

“But my staring at you is distracting as well, so in that sense I’m doing my duty.”

Silence falls over them again save for the scribbling of Amy’s pen. After a few seconds she stops writing again and starts twirling her pen slowly between her fingers. “Nick proposed,” she finally breathes. Sam, not wanting to startle her in a rare moment of vulnerability, waits patiently for Amy to continue. “He loved me. He wanted to build a life with me, and all I could think about when I saw the ring was… I don’t know his parents’ names.”

She tosses the notepad on the desk and rests her head in her hand, the armrest supporting her elbow beneath while Sam leans forward to listen. “I know the names of all 435 members of the House of Representatives and one hundred members of the US Senate, most of whom I’ve never spoken to personally. But I slept next to this man more nights than not for nearly a year, and I can’t remember his parents’ names.”

Carefully she sits up and takes her feet off the desk. “I know I have a reputation for being…” She pauses, searching the air for the right word. “I think the most common description is _a_ _cold-hearted bitch_.” She scoffs, and Sam notices the way her eyes tear up. “But I never thought it was true until…” She trails off and presses her fingers to her lips, breathing deeply to calm herself. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in love, Sam,” she whispers.

Sam reaches for her then, squeezing her hand with his. “It’s overrated,” he quips, causing her to let loose a snicker that breaks the dam holding back her tears. Suddenly she’s crying quietly and dabbing at her eyes with the fingertips of her free hand. The other clutches Sam’s tightly. “Look, I’ve got two failed engagements and a slew of disastrous relationships, so maybe I’m not the best person to give advice on this,” he rambles. He then takes a deep breath and moves to kneel in front of her. “But you’re a smart, kind, wonderful woman who can do anything you set your mind to. I have no doubt that one day it’ll happen for you.”

Her eyes study him sadly, the tears slowing. Their fingers, laced together, rest in her lap, and Sam just looks up at her, hoping he’s been able to provide some comfort. They sit like that for a while, and then Amy does something Sam never expected.

She leans in and kisses him.

His immediate response is to kiss her back, his lips moving slowly against hers. It isn’t until she unlaces her fingers from his and moves to cup his neck that he comes to his senses and pulls away. She tries to follow him, but he presses his hands to her thighs, holding her off.

“We can’t – ”

“Yeah,” she whispers back, her voice as quiet as his. But she doesn’t look away from his eyes. Only a couple inches separate them at this point, and the tug of desire he feels for her makes him think he was an idiot for pulling away.

“I – “

“Yeah, I know,” she says, removing her hands and reaching past him to pick up her notepad again. “I’m gonna go.” She quickly slips past him and grabs her things. “I’ll see you at the wedding.” And then as quickly as she’d come, she’s gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Twenty hours later, Sam stands at his best friend's side in the Rose Garden and watches him exchange vows with the love of his life. At this moment he can see Donna's face, and she's absolutely beaming as Josh slips a ring onto her finger. 

As Donna takes Josh's hand and repeats the phrase given to her by President Bartlet, Sam steals a glance at the crowd and spots Amy. She's sitting about halfway back next to Danny Concannon, whose very pregnant date is also part of the ceremony. Amy is focused on Josh and Donna, but she seems to feel the gaze of the best man and lets her eyes flick over to him for a moment before darting away.

He's never seen her nervous before. She's probably the most confident, unflappable woman he's ever met. But after last night... well he can understand why she would feel a little insecure.

Not that she has any reason at all to be.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” President Bartlet announces with a grin. “Now kiss her already,” he prods, nodding toward the bride. Without hesitation, Josh steps forward and takes Donna’s face in his hands, kissing her deeply. Around them, their guests all applaud as they stand.

Sam smiles widely as the couple starts to make their way back up the aisle and offers CJ his arm to proceed behind them. She waddles up the aisle more than she strides, and Sam sees Danny chuckling as he watches his wife. CJ scowls playfully at him, and Sam takes the opportunity to try finding Amy’s gaze again.

Her eyes follow the bride and groom before she whips her head to watch the Santoses striding up the aisle behind the best man and maid of honor, and Sam is sure she is actively avoiding further eye contact with him. She smiles along with everyone else, but he can see it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

Before he knows it, he and CJ are stepping onto the tile floor of the portico and heading for the Mural Room, where Danny promised to meet her after the ceremony so they could go to the reception in the East Room together. “How are you feeling?” He asks her as they pass through the office he will always think of as Mrs. Landingham’s.

“Oh, you know,” she shrugs, her free hand resting on her belly. “Fat.” She laughs at that as she hugs his arm, and he laughs along with her. “I’ve missed you, Spanky. I’m sorry I don’t call more.”

Sam takes her hands and helps her sit on one of the couches. “It’s alright,” he promises. “You were here for eight years. It makes sense you would want to put some distance between you and the White House.”

“Yeah,” she agrees, apparently surprised at his understanding.

Before she can continue, Danny comes striding in. “Alright, my pregnant friend, are you ready to go?”

“Let me sit for two more minutes?” CJ pleads. “I just stood through the entire ceremony.”

“Did Amy come in with you?” Sam asks.

Sitting next to his wife, Danny shakes his head. “Nah, I think she went straight to the East Room,” he replies. “Why, what’s up?”

“Nothing. I just – “ The couple looks at him expectantly, and he shakes his head. “Nothing. I’ll see you at the reception,” he finishes, heading out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

The reception contains a much larger crowd than the ceremony itself. While there were about thirty people in the Rose Garden, there are over two hundred in the East Room. He scans the room for Amy but doesn’t immediately spot her. And almost as soon as he arrives he’s ambushed by Senator Jenkins, who, despite Josh and Donna’s insistence that they didn’t want any shop talk at the wedding, wants to discuss the upcoming midterms. Sam brushes him off as quickly as possible before making his way to the bar.

He orders a scotch and manages to dodge Representatives Blinken and Hammond on his way to the table reserved for the wedding party. As he approaches, he hears the announcement, “Ladies and Gentlemen, for the first time as a married couple, Joshua Lyman and Donnatella Moss!”

The room erupts into applause as Josh and Donna enter and make their way to the table at the front of the room where Sam already stands. “Congratulations,” he tells them, hugging Josh before kissing Donna on the cheek.

They all go to sit together, including the President and First Lady, and Sam notes three seats left empty. Two over by Donna’s seat, which he assumes are reserved for CJ and Danny, who haven’t quite made their way to the reception yet, and one next to his chair. Before he has the chance to catch the name on the seating card, Donna loops her arm through his and pulls him back toward the bar. “Hey,” she greets.

“If I haven’t mentioned it enough today, you look beautiful,” he tells her. “And I’m so very happy for you two.”

She hasn’t stopped smiling all day, and if possible it grows wider before she stretches her jaw comically. “I swear, Sam, if I don’t stop smiling my face is going to get stuck like this,” she jokes before sucking in her cheeks like a fish. As soon as she stops, her face breaks into a grin again and she laughs. “I think the only thing making it less embarrassing is that Josh can’t seem to stop either.”

Sam glances over toward the groom, who is having a seemingly jovial discussion with the current President. “It’s not embarrassing,” he assures her as she asks the bartender for a glass of white wine. “It’s your wedding day. Something’s wrong if you’re not smiling like an idiot.”

She nods and takes her glass from the bartender with a thanks. “If I don’t get a drink now, I may never get one what with having to make the rounds. Why did we invite so many people again?”

“Avoiding political ramifications from slighted representatives?” He offers.

“Right, _that_.” She giggles and takes a sip from her glass. “So I wanted to talk to you, and don’t think that I don’t take this seriously because of my current inability to disengage my zygomaticus major.”

“Your what?”

“My smiling muscles,” she clarifies. “I talked to Amy last night.”

Sam’s smile fades at that and he lifts his own drink to sip. “Oh?”

“Yeah, we had a low-key bachelorette party last night in the residence, and she was practically ready to bolt from the moment she walked in the door. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Sam sighs and shoves his free hand in his pocket. “What did she tell you?”

“The truth, I assume. That she kissed you and you stopped her.”

He nods solemnly. “There’s a little more to it than that, but that’s the gist. How upset was she?” He asks.

“It’s Amy. She’s tough. Doesn’t like feeling vulnerable. She hid it pretty well, but I could tell something was off.”

He just stands there for a moment, swirling his drink in the glass. “I wanted to explain, but she left before I could.”

“Well then explain now,” Donna shrugs, prompting him to nod without meeting her gaze. “Sam,” she prods, dipping her head. “You like her, right?”

He takes a sip from his drink, his mouth suddenly dry. “Yeah,” he admits.

“Then talk to her,” she insists, taking his arm and leading him back to the table.

Josh smiles as they return and stands up to pull out Donna’s chair. “I finally got her to marry me and _now_ you try to steal her away?” He jokes, sliding his wife’s chair in as she sits.

“Yeah because I thought this was a much better time to make my move than during those eight years she was off-limits to you.”

“Wait, is it too late to change my mind?” Donna quips, causing Josh’s eyebrows to shoot up as he looks at her.

“Married for one hour and she’s already preparing to jump ship,” he scoffs playfully as he drapes his arm over the back of her chair.

“Nah, you’re stuck with me,” she assures him, leaning in for a quick kiss.

Across the table, CJ and Danny have finally arrived, and he helps her sit in her chair, reminding Sam of the empty seat next to him. Just as he goes to look at the name card, he hears her voice. “Donna, are we ejecting people if they talk about politics or was that note in the invitation just a preventative measure?”

Sam looks up to see Amy pulling out the empty chair between him and President Santos and finds himself feeling relieved at her presence. “Mostly preventative, but if anything gets too heated I have no reservations about abusing my husband’s Secret Service control,” jokes Donna.

“ _You_ , however, are banned from any shop talk today,” Josh amends, pointing at the brunette. “I can’t handle a knock-down, drag-out fight that will ultimately end up with your opponent in tears.”

“Well how am I supposed to have any fun now?” Amy faux-pouts.

Almost as soon as everyone at the table is seated, they’re presented with their food, prompting a “thank god” from the bride, who explains she hasn’t eaten all day – mostly due to excitement about the food they would be served but also because she was worried about fitting into her dress.

They eat and chat, conversation flowing easily among the group as they do. Across the table, Sam sees Danny wordlessly switch CJ’s empty plate with his own so she can finish off the last of his chicken dish. She doesn’t notice at first as she’s enthralled in her conversation with Josh, but when she reaches for her seltzer, she notices the plate and smiles to herself before turning and kissing her husband’s cheek in thanks.

“Two hundred guests. Who thought that was a good idea?” Mutters Josh, who receives a quirked brow from his bride. “Oh right, that would be me,” he adds. “But if you recall, _I_ wanted to get married a year and a half ago in Hawaii – “

Next to him, Sam hears a quiet laugh and he turns to look at Amy, whose focus is elsewhere. He follows her gaze to a neighboring table, where a good chunk of the Santos administration is engaged in an animated discussion. Otto is waving his arms spiritedly. “Lou looks like she’s about to throw her drink at him,” Sam comments with a smirk.

“Yeah, that or jump him,” Amy bats back, causing them both to laugh quietly. It’s the first real smile she’s directed toward him today.

He opens his mouth to speak, but he’s interrupted by CJ standing to make her toast. “Forgive me,” she begins, laughing into the microphone. “It’s a little difficult to get up when you have a basketball for a stomach.” The crowd laughs, and she continues. Next to her, Josh and Donna crane their heads upward and smile. They have moved their chairs close together, and Donna is leaning into the crook of his arm and still smiling uncontrollably. CJ continues with her speech, and Sam watches but doesn’t fully listen as he goes over his own speech in his head.

“I think I speak for everyone when I say congratulations on _finally_ making it down the aisle.” CJ raises her glass and nods at the couple. “To the bride and groom,” she finishes, causing everyone to toast with her before she passes the mic over to Sam.

Sam takes a deep breath and looks at the pair to his left. “There’s a lot to say about these two,” he begins before looking out at the guests. “Anyone who knows them knows that this has been a long time coming. There were times when there were doubts that it would ever happen – that these two people who clearly love each other might never admit it. Because as much as they love each other, their path here was far from easy." His eyes flicker to the woman sitting next to him, and her expression is so soft, so gentle, that it makes his breath catch for a moment. He lets himself smile at her for the briefest of moments, hoping to communicate everything he wants her to know before continuing to address the crowd.

“I am fortunate enough to call both of them my best friends. For years I watched them dance around each other, trying to pretend that what they shared together was nothing more than a friendship between coworkers. We all knew better,” he directs to the couple. 

“Over the course of eight years, I watched them slowly come to the conclusion we had all found from day one, and despite evidence they would remain oblivious, I never once doubted them. Their love was inevitable, as though they were created in the very same moment with the other in mind as their perfect fit.”

He takes a deep breath. “I have never been very good at relationships. But if even these two people who are absolutely each other’s better half struggled to find their way to each other, I know that one day all of us will find our perfect match.

Sam smiles and lifts his glass. “To Josh and Donna,” he finishes, prompting everyone around to toast them as well. He looks at the bride and groom and finds Donna has tears in her eyes as she pulls Josh in for a sweet kiss.

He gives the microphone to President Santos next, and he and his wife stand to deliver their toast together. Sam doesn’t pay much attention though because as soon as he sits, Amy finds his hand, her fingers fitting perfectly between his, and the beating of his heart booms louder than the voice of the President of the United States.


	4. Chapter 4

After President and Mrs. Santos’ speech, President Bartlet shares some words of wisdom (only a few in Latin, much to everyone’s relief) as the final speech before the couple shares their first dance. Amy excused herself when he was finished, and Sam follows her with his eyes until he loses sight of her when she turns a corner potentially to head for the restroom.

He turns his head then and watches the newlyweds begin their first dance as a married couple, and he can’t help but think back to the many times he’s seen them dance together at White House functions. Even then they were undeniably perfect for each other.

“Hey,” he hears from behind him, causing his nostalgic smile to break into a wide grin. He turns his head to face Amy, who’s just taking her seat back. “That was some speech,” she compliments, crossing her legs and sipping from her glass of red.

“Thanks,” he replies, swiveling his body in the chair so that he fully faces her. “It’s pretty easy to do when you’ve got good inspiration.”

She nods, looking past him at the happy couple. He takes the moment to study her then, seeing the slightest tinge of melancholy in her gaze, and he wants nothing more than to make that sadness go away.

The music ends and everyone claps as a new song begins, Elton John’s voice coming through the speakers. Couples start to dance together, and Sam stands to offer his hand to his companion. She looks up at him then, seemingly surprised at the gesture. “Just one dance,” he urges gently.

Amy grins softly as she puts her glass on the table. “Okay,” she agrees, taking his hand and allowing him to guide the way to the dance floor. He then pulls her to him, taking her left hand with his right and wrapping his other arm around her at the waist, his hand coming to rest on plum-colored silk at the small of her back.

He smiles down at her before lifting his head and seeing the bride and groom both looking at him. Donna smiles and gives him a little nod before turning to hug Josh’s mom. Josh, on the other hand, looks at him with a bit of confusion – he never was quick to notice these things. But after a short moment, he quirks his lips into a grin and raises his drink to Sam.

He looks back at the woman in his arms and delves in. “So about last night…”

“Sam, you really don’t need to explain,” she promises.

“I think I do,” he insists, looking down at her face in earnest. She just swallows and nods her go ahead. “I don’t want to be your rebound, Amy,” he murmurs.

Amy nods in understanding, sliding her hand from his shoulder to the base of his neck just under his jacket collar. Sam moves with her, his arm holding her a little closer as they continue dancing. “I like you way too much for that,” Sam adds after a long moment. “So take all the time you need. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here.”

He feels her fingers start to toy with the hair at the nape of his neck. “And if it takes six more years?” She asks quietly.

“You’ll know where to find me,” he promises.

“And…if I’m ready now?”

He feels his heart start beating faster and he swallows his nerves. “Then so much the better.”

She smiles at him and then tips her head down, resting it on his shoulder, her forehead nuzzled into the crook of his neck. It’s an odd display of affection for Amy. When she and Nick were together, he never saw them being particularly affectionate. And with Josh he only ever saw her publicly loving when she was trying to get something she wanted.

But neither of those relationships ever seemed right, and that gives him a little hope as they continue to sway together. Sam has never been a great singer, but he can carry a tune alright, and as the song comes to an end, he softly sings along:

“ _I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words  
how wonderful life is now you’re in the world.”_

He feels her shiver a bit as she slowly lifts her head to look at him, and he’s not sure he’s ever seen this particular smile on her face. It warms him thoroughly from the inside out, and despite his immensely impressive vocabulary, the only word he can think of to describe it is _sweet_. She moves her hand to stroke her fingers through the slightly graying hair at his temples, and he has to actively resist the urge to purr.


	5. Chapter 5

He wants to kiss her again. Now, when she’s happy and warm and her fingertips are gently stroking through his hair. He wants to know how she tastes when not mixed with her tears.

But he told her he’d wait. He’d let her decide when it was time. And he’s almost certain that time isn’t during their friends’ wedding in front of two hundred members of the federal government. Not that they haven’t already given the guests plenty of fodder for gossip.

The music comes to a stop, and he sees her eyes flick down to his lips before meeting his gaze again. He can practically see the wheels turning in that brilliant head of hers, but before she can speak, her assistant interrupts them, causing them to separate to a more professional-looking distance. She looks out of place here, wearing a button-up and a black skirt while everyone around her is attired in cocktail dresses and suits, but she doesn’t think anything of it as she’s single-mindedly focused on doing her job.

“I’m sorry, Amy, Sam…” The blonde nods toward him before redirecting her attention to her boss and murmuring something in her ear.

Amy turns her head toward him with an apologetic gaze. “Catch up with you later?”

He gives her a gentle smile. “You bet.” Her eyes linger on him just a moment longer before she and Rachel head off toward the bullpen. For the third time in less than twenty-four hours he finds himself staring after the brunette as she walks away.

He sighs and heads over to the table where the majority of senior staff sits chatting with the newlyweds. Bram is off dancing with his date, so Sam plops down in his seat, draping his arm across the back of the empty chair next to him as he wonders what could be so important that Amy would be pulled away in the middle of a party involving most of the power players in DC.

The groom collapses into the seat next to him. “So…” He says, his head lolling to the side at the best man. “Interesting development.”

“What?”

“What happened to her lumberjack?”

“Woodworker,” Sam corrects.

“Okay.”

“They broke up.”

“I figured that much. Do you know why?” Sam nods. “You gonna tell me?”

“Nope.” He steals Josh’s beer and takes a drink.

“Okay,” Josh concedes. “For what it’s worth, I like you together.”

Sam’s eyebrows rise to his hairline. “Really?” He asks. “It’s not weird for you?”

“It would only be weird if there were anything between us…” He smiles and looks over toward his wife. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m kind of seeing someone,” he teases. Josh looks around for a minute before looking at Sam again. “Where did Amy go by the way?”

“Rachel came and got her for something.”

“Something that doesn’t involve you or me or any of the rest of the senior staff on a Saturday?” Josh asks.

Sam sighs. “Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to figure out,” he replies.

He watches as Donna comes up behind Josh and slides her hands down his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You sick of me already?” She teases him.

“ _Already?_ Donna, it’s been a decade,” he jokes, taking one of her hands in his and kissing her palm.

“Still, I turn around for five seconds and you’re running off to Sam.”

“Says the woman who ran off to his side the second we walked into the room.”

Sam wistfully watches them continue bickering back and forth. It’s amazing to him that it took this long for them to realize the banter they had for all those years in the White House wasn’t normal for a platonic relationship.

“Sam?”

He blinks up at Donna, who apparently just asked him something. “Sorry?”

“I said where did Amy run off to?”

“I’m guessing the office? Rachel came in about ten minutes ago. Something important, apparently.” Josh and Donna sport matching confused expressions at that. “What?”

“Everyone’s _here_ ,” she points out. “What kind of legislative work could she possibly…” Realization dawns on her face. “Excuse me,” she tells him before darting off as quickly as her wedding dress and heels will allow.

The men look at each other, Josh’s brows raised, Sam’s furrowed, before they go after her. When they catch up, she’s looking at a list she’s taken from the agent stationed at the entrance to the East Room. “Donna, what – ”

“I didn’t take him off the list.”

“Who?” Both men ask, prompting a look from Donna. Sam gets on the same page first. “You don’t think he’d show up here, do you?”

“Who?” Josh repeats.

“I mean last night I changed the seating arrangements, but I didn’t even think to tell the Secret Service.”

“Tell them what?” Josh, despite his political brilliance, looks entirely baffled by the conversation going on in front of him.

“Isn’t there constantly one outside of your apartment? It didn’t come to mind?”

Donna takes a pen from the agent and crosses out the name. “I didn’t stay at our apartment last night. I stayed in the residence,” she tells him.

“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?” Josh cries, his voice rising in pitch like it does when he gets panicked.

Donna sighs. “I forgot to take Nick off the list.”

“That’s ridiculous; you don’t forget anything.”

“Well I forgot this!”

As they continue back and forth, Sam sidles away, slipping out the door and heading for the west wing.


	6. Chapter 6

Nick Mariano is not a small man. Sam has only met him a couple times at White House events Amy strong-armed him into attending, and the deputy chief of staff remembers him being cheerful, tall, and not nearly as smart as the other people in attendance at the party. He definitely wasn’t a bad guy, and even if he were, the building is crawling with Secret Service. Amy is safe. She has to be.

Even so, when he passes through the lobby, he stops to check the entry log. Sure enough, Nick Mariano signed in to the building just fifteen minutes ago. No sign out recorded.

He continues through to the policy bullpen, checking their office for any sign of the recently split couple. When he turns around, he sees Rachel coming toward him from the other end of the bullpen, her face buried in a folder. “Where’d she go?” He asks.

She jumps slightly, not having expected him. “I don’t know,” she replies.

“Look, Rachel, I know you don’t want to betray her trust, but I know Nick is here and I know that he’s not supposed to be, and all I’m trying to do is make sure she’s alright, so I need you to tell me where they went.”

The blonde eyes him for a moment before nodding. “They were headed toward the Mural Room – ” Before she can say anything else, he’s bolting back through the lobby.

The Mural Room is empty when he arrives, and he strides through into the outer office to the Oval. To his left is the door to the Rose Garden, and then he sees them. They’re standing out in front of the rows of chairs where she’d been sitting only hours before. He dwarfs her in size, but she looks completely in control of the situation.

That doesn’t stop him from feeling relieved when he sees an agent standing just outside the door.

He refocuses on the pair in the garden, particularly on the brunette woman who has barely moved an inch since he arrived. There’s a reason Amy Gardner is often sought for debate prep. She is a master. While Nick is moving around erratically, looking agitated, Amy stands stoically, hands folded in front of her as she mostly listens, only interjecting now and then and never letting her emotions get the best of her. Sam cracks the door quietly so he can hear some of the conversation, but he only manages to catch words and short phrases here and there. In fact he really only catches some of Nick’s raised voice, while Amy’s much calmer speech doesn’t carry toward him. The only way he can tell she is the least bit upset is from the way her jaw clenches every now and then.

From what he manages to gather, Nick doesn’t like the answers he’s getting from his ex. The more frantic he gets, the more aggressive he looks, and that causes the knot in Sam’s stomach to tighten. It tightens further when Nick grabs Amy by the shoulders and kisses her.

It's a hard, desperate kiss from the woodworker, and from this angle, Sam can’t tell if Amy is reciprocating or not. But then she stumbles backward, and it looks as though she pushed him away. She then delicately wipes at the corners of her mouth with her fingers, shaking her head, and Sam is certain she’s going to start shouting. But she doesn’t. She just shakes her head and says something that once again Sam can’t hear, so he finally decides to step outside.

He recognizes the agent as Agent Walker, and Sam nods as he closes the portico door quietly behind him and steps outside, moving a few yards away from the Oval Office and hiding behind a pillar. Now that there's no door between them and she’s starting to ramp up her argument, Amy’s voice finally finds his ears. “ – and you don’t come here, to a place you know you are no longer welcome – a place crawling with the best-trained guards on the planet – and demand answers. You call or email or send a damn messenger and trust that if I want to talk, I will come to you.”

Her hands find her hips and she speaks quietly, Sam can't hear her this time, but he thinks he can see the word 'sorry' pass her lips. Nick seems to consider her words before finally turning to go, looking dejected as he heads toward Agent Walker, who escorts him inside.

Once the two men have gone, Sam looks toward Amy, who’s facing away from him, and he walks in her direction, making his way down the aisle slowly so as not to startle her. When he reaches her, she just continues to stare ahead, toward the chuppah under which their friends were married just a couple of hours ago. If he hadn't seen the argument that had just occurred, he wouldn't think for a moment that she was upset. “You okay?” He asks quietly.

She nods slowly without shifting her gaze at all. “He thought it would be a romantic gesture – showing up here in a tux with flowers, declaring his love for me and whisking me off to Virginia to get married on a moment’s notice.” She takes a deep breath and rolls her eyes. “Turned out to be more of a security risk than a romantic gesture.”

It’s chilly outside, the setting sun cooling the evening air, so he slips off his jacket and drapes it over her bare shoulders. Amy seems surprised but not at all offended as she twists to slip her arms into the sleeves with a quiet "thanks" as she quirks her lips. “Actually I think it’s a good thing he showed up today,” she adds after a long moment. “Proved I made the right decision by saying no.”

“Yeah, showing up at the most highly protected building in the United States wasn’t the brightest idea in the world, was it?”

“No, it was not… but on the up side, it gave me a chance to apologize to him. I did care about him, and it made me sick to hurt him, but I’m pretty sure that if you’re supposed to marry someone, you don't hesitate; you just _know_ ,” she reasons. Finally, she turns her head to look at him. “Does that make me sound like a total sap?” She chuckles.

“A little, but I like it,” he replies, meeting her gaze.

She seems to consider her next words for a moment as though she isn't quite sure how Sam will react. “He said that I'm like this because I feel like I have to be.”

“Like what?” Sam asks.

Amy nods again. “Tough. Severe…”

“Indomitable?”

“His vocabulary isn’t quite that extensive, but sure.” She allows a minor smile at that. “He thought he could tame me or something. If we got married, I mean. Like if I had a big, strong man waiting for me at home…” She trails off then, shrugging and looking down at the ground beneath them. “Maybe he could fix me.”

“Well then he’s an idiot.”

Her head snaps up to look at him. “He’s an idiot,” Sam repeats, turning to face her fully. “You are resilient. You don’t take shit from anyone. You’re passionate about your work and you want to change the world, which sometimes means you have to be at work until two in the morning because your job is important. If he doesn’t understand that – if he doesn’t love those things about you, then he’s an idiot who didn’t deserve you in the first place.”

Sometime during his little speech, she turned toward him, and he can’t quite read her in that moment. “So,” she breathes, her voice gravelly. She clears her throat and swallows thickly, her voice stronger after. “What you’re saying is that I need a man who understands that I’m an extremely intense workaholic who won’t take his crap?”

A wide smile spreads across Sam’s face. “You’re Amy Gardner. You don’t _need_ a man,” he counters.

“Damn straight,” she laughs.

He laughs along with her. “But if you decide you _want_ one,” he adds with a shrug of his shoulders.

In her heels, she’s just about the same height as he is, so all it takes is a tilt of her head for their lips to meet. This time he doesn’t stop her.


	7. Epilogue

“So explain this to me,” Amy says as she steps out of her discarded dress and kicks it to the side. “When you get married, you have a wedding, a rehearsal dinner, a bridal shower, and potentially a bachelor-slash-bachelorette party.” She pulls one of Sam’s Duke shirts over her head, muffling her voice.

“Sorry, didn’t catch that last part,” Sam laughs as her head pops through the neck hole.

“So why do we also have to have an engagement party?” She repeats, flipping her hair out from beneath the collar of the too-large shirt.

Sam shrugs. “More gifts?” He ventures, pulling his undershirt off. Across the room, Amy closes her own closet door and hums her disapproval.

“Not that I’m not thrilled to be marrying you,” she drawls, “but planning a constant string of parties all celebrating the same event is slightly insane.” He laughs and pulls off his pants, tossing them into the hamper. "Plus you're asking all of your friends to spend a ton of money on gifts _and_ possibly take an expensive trip with you."

“Well considering we work for the President of the United States – as do almost all of our friends – I would think a big bachelor trip isn’t in the cards,” he assures her. As if any of them has time to leave town for more than a couple of hours.

“I’ve always found the whole bachelorette party thing kind of tacky anyway,” she admits as she turns on the lamp on her side of the bed. “The whole ‘last night of freedom’ crap…” She waves her hands dismissively.

“Yeah,” Sam agrees. “I mean we don’t _have_ to do any of it,” he tells her, flicking off the overhead light. “We could just do a wedding and rehearsal dinner. Hell, I’d be fine if we drove to Virginia and got married right now.”

“Really?” She asks, seemingly intrigued as she climbs onto the bed. “Right now?” She asks.

He shrugs. “Why not?”

“Would I have to put on pants?” She asks, popping up to her knees. His shirt covers only just past her underwear, so he gets a great view of her legs.

“I’d prefer you didn’t,” he banters, waggling his eyebrows suggestively to make her laugh.

“And you’d be okay with nixing a whole big party – “ she gestures widely with her arms “ - and just getting married in front of a judge?”

“Hey, as long as this engagement ends with my being your husband, I’m not too concerned with how we get there,” he reasons, sitting down on the bed and taking off his watch.

As he does, he feels the bed shift as she moves until her limbs are wrapped around him and she’s stretching to press a kiss to the crook of his neck. She rests her head against his back and he puts one hand on her leg, stroking from knee to ankle and back. She really does have incredible legs. “That’s very sweet of you,” she murmurs, placing a couple of kisses on his spine, making him shiver.

“I do what I can."

Amy sighs. “However, we’d probably get lectures from two First Couples if we eloped,” she concedes.

Sam chuckles. “And with our luck, President Bartlet would do it entirely in Latin.”

“I’m more concerned about Abbey,” she admits.

Sam nods in agreement. He knows how close his fiancée is with Dr. Bartlet. Taking one of Amy’s hands, he presses a tender kiss to her palm. “So then how about just an engagement party and a small wedding?” He suggests, causing her to lift her head and put her chin on his shoulder. “We'll have the engagement party in a few weeks and then we’ll do a small ceremony later.”

She smiles widely and hugs him a little tighter. “See? This is why I’m marrying you. You get me,” she tells him, kissing his neck.

“I thought it was the great sex,” he counters cheekily as he reaches into the drawer of his nightstand.

“Fringe benefit,” she replies before he hands her a box. “What’s this?”

“Think of it as a thank-you-for-marrying-me present,” he reasons, looking at her over his shoulder with a smile.

Amy gives him an eye roll. “Because the promise to love me for the rest of your life wasn’t enough.” She takes the gift from him and unwinds her legs from around his waist so she can sit at his side, her legs folded underneath her. “Plus you gave me a paperweight,” she jokes, lifting her left hand and waggling her fingers so her engagement ring catches the light. He hums a little laugh as she grins wryly and lifts the top off the box. Then the humor disappears from her expression and she’s left with a blissful smile as she looks at her gift. “Sam,” she breathes.

It’s a picture from the day Josh and Donna got married, which he remembers like it was yesterday. They’re standing in the Rose Garden. Amy, wearing Sam’s tuxedo jacket, has her palms pressed gently against his abdomen, and his hands cup her neck as they kiss. The chuppah is off center, just a bit to the left of Sam’s back, and behind them the sky has gone slightly pink with the setting sun. “Donna made the photographer get a picture before they so rudely interrupted us for their own,” he jokes.

“How have I never seen this before?” She asks, finally tearing her eyes away and looking up at her fiancé.

“I asked her not to show it to you,” he admits, causing Amy to furrow her brow in confusion. “I wanted to save it for a special occasion.”

She smiles, putting the box on the nightstand before kissing him deeply, holding his face in her hands. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her back just as passionately. After a long moment, their lips part and Amy smiles. “Thanks for asking me to marry you,” she whispers.

“Thanks for remembering my parents’ names,” he quips, causing her to laugh and pull him down onto the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you who stuck with this story! Hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it.


End file.
